Modern Garden Decoration: Garden Fountains and their Beginnings
Modern Garden Decoration: Garden Fountains and their Beginnings A fountain, an amazing piece of engineering, not only supplies drinking water as it pours into a basin, it can also launch water high into the air for an extraordinary effect.From the onset, outdoor fountains were soley meant to serve as functional elements. Water fountains were linked to a spring or aqueduct to supply potable water as well as bathing water for cities, townships and villages. Up until the 19th century, fountains had to be higher and closer to a water source, such as aqueducts and reservoirs, in order to take advantage of gravity which fed the fountains. Fountains were an optimal source of water, and also served to decorate living areas and memorialize the artist. Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often times utilized by Romans to beautify their fountains.
During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden planners included fountains to create smaller depictions of the gardens of paradise. To show his prominence over nature, French King Louis XIV included fountains in the Garden of Versailles. To mark the entryway of the restored Roman aqueducts, the Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries commissioned the building of baroque style fountains in the spot where the aqueducts arrived in the city of Rome
Urban fountains made at the end of the nineteenth served only as decorative and celebratory adornments since indoor plumbing provided the necessary drinking water. Impressive water effects and recycled water were made possible by replacing the power of gravity with mechanical pumps.
Beautifying city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the functions of modern-day fountains.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini's Water Fountains
Gian Lorenzo Bernini's Water Fountains In Rome’s city center, there are many celebrated water features. One of the greatest sculptors and artists of the 17th century, nearly all of them were designed, conceived and built by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Traces of his life's efforts are apparent throughout the avenues of Rome simply because, in addition to his capabilities as a fountain builder, he was additionally a city builder. A celebrated Florentine sculptor, Bernini's father guided his young son, and they ultimately moved to Rome to thoroughly exhibit their art, mainly in the form of community water features and water features. The young Bernini received encouragement from Popes and relevant artists alike, and was an diligent worker. At the beginning he was recognized for his sculptural abilities. He used his expertise and melded it gracefully with Roman marble, most significantly in the Vatican. Though many artists impacted his artistic endeavors, Michelangelo affected him the most.